Red-hot Thunder dominate Hornets

Basketball Betting Lines

03/10/2010 - Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Durant scored a team-high 29 points to lead the red-hot Oklahoma City Thunder to a decisive 98-83 win over the New Orleans Hornets at Ford Center.

Russell Westbrook had a near-triple double with 17 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, as the Thunder won for the 15th time in 18 games to continue their ascension up the West standings. At 39-24, Oklahoma City sits mere percentage points ahead of Phoenix for the fifth spot in the conference.

Serge Ibaka added 12 points off the bench for the Thunder, while Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic each had 10 in the win.

David West provided a game-high 33 points for the Hornets, who have lost five of six to fall 5 1/2 games out of the final playoff spot in the West. Marcus Thornton had 11 points in a reserve role, while Julian Wright provided 10 in defeat. Darren Collison recorded eight points and nine assists for New Orleans.

The Thunder took a 29-26 lead after the first quarter and used an 8-0 burst in the latter stages of the second to a grab a 48-39 lead on a Durant dunk with three minutes left.

The hosts held a 54-45 halftime advantage.

Oklahoma City scored 12 of the first 18 points of the second half, going in front by 15, 66-51, on a Krstic jumper four minutes into the period. The lead reached as high as 19 on Durant three before heading into the fourth with an 80-62 cushion.

Durant hit his second three of the game for a 21-point lead to begin the final 12 minutes, and the Thunder led comfortably the rest of the way.

Game Notes

The Thunder have won the last two against the Hornets after losing the previous 10...Oklahoma City won the season series, 2-1...The Thunder improved to 20-11 at home...Green had nine rebounds.

Sothevys Basketball Betting News

<< Billups, Nuggets send T'Wolves to seventh straight loss
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chauncey Billups delivered 25 points to lead Denver in a 110-102 final over Minnesota at the Target Center. Carmelo Anthony recorded 19 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Nuggets, who wo

<< Robert Morris wins second straight Northeast Conference title
Hamden, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Karon Abraham scored 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting, and Robert Morris secured its second straight Northeast Conference Tournament championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament with a thrilling 52-50 w

<< Road warriors: Grizzlies run road streak to seven with rout in Boston
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rudy Gay led a potent Memphis attack with 28 points, as the Grizzlies' ran their road winning streak to seven games with a convincing 111-91 win over the Celtics. O.J. Mayo notched 17 points, and Marcus Wil

<< Jazz continue mastery of Pistons
Auburn Hills, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Deron Williams paced a balanced attack with 18 points and 12 assists, and the Utah Jazz trounced the Detroit Pistons, 115-104, at the Palace at Auburn Hills. Mehmet Okur and Paul Millsap each added 18

<< Devils double up Rangers
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Devils captain Jamie Langenbrunner was one of six different goal-scorers, as New Jersey doubled up the New York Rangers, 6-3, at Prudential Center. Langenbrunner, Brian Rolston, Travis Zajac and Rob Niede

Wade, Heat rout Clippers >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwyane Wade poured in 27 points, dished out eight assists, and pulled down six rebounds, as the Miami Heat led wire-to-wire in a 108-97 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Jermaine O'Neal donated 19 points and

Ginobili helps Spurs hold off Knicks >>
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manu Ginobili poured in a game-best 28 points to go with six rebounds and five assists, as the San Antonio Spurs used a late surge to hold off the New York Knicks, 97-87. Tim Duncan added 18 points an

Mavericks down Nets for 13th straight victory >>
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Kidd racked up 20 points and nine assists, as the Dallas Mavericks extended their winning streak with a 96-87 victory over the New Jersey Nets at the American Airlines Center. Caron Butler added 18

Raptors-Kings, Box >>
TORONTO (90)Turkoglu 2-8 2-2 6, Bosh 6-20 2-3 14, Bargnani 8-12 3-4 20, Jack 6-12 0-0 14, DeRozan 5-10 4-4 14, Wright 0-4 0-0 0, Johnson 1-2 2-2 4, Calderon 4-8 1-2 10, R.Evans 2-2 0-0 4, Weems 2-3 0-0 4, Belinelli 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 36-82 14-17 9

Canucks-Coyotes Sum >>
Vancouver 1 1 1 0-3Phoenix 1 1 1 0-4Phoenix won shootout 4-3First Period-1, Phoenix, Stempniak 16 (Yandle), 10:16. 2, Vancouver, H.Sedin 27 (Samuelsson, D.Sedin), 19:14.Second Period-3, Vancouver, Samuelsson 28 (H.Sedin), :36. 4, Phoenix, Py

Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.